Federal judge tosses lawsuit filed in death of David Koschman

Nanci Koschman gets emotional after the filing of a lawsuit alleging a plot to cover up the involvement of a nephew of then-Mayor Richard Daley in the killing of her son David Koschman.

Nanci Koschman gets emotional after the filing of a lawsuit alleging a plot to cover up the involvement of a nephew of then-Mayor Richard Daley in the killing of her son David Koschman. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

Jason Meisner and Marwa EltagouriTribune reporters

Koschman lawsuit tossed out by federal judge

A federal judge ruled Thursday that David Koschman’s mother waited too long to file a wrongful death lawsuit that accused authorities of a cover-up in her son’s 2004 death following a drunken altercation with a member of the powerful Daley family.

In abruptly dismissing the suit against Chicago police, City Hall, and Cook County prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer called the case “extraordinary” but said it had been filed well after the two-year statute of limitations for civil rights violations had run out.

Pallmeyer said the clock started ticking in December 2011, after Koschman’s mother, Nanci, asked for a special prosecutor to look into allegations that police and prosecutors had fabricated evidence or otherwise bungled the investigation to protect Richard Vanecko, a nephew of former Mayor Richard Daley’s.

Nanci Koschman didn’t file the lawsuit until March, after Vanecko had pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with her son’s death.

Koschman’s attorneys argued that the statute of limitations should be waived because the conspiracy had denied Koschman her opportunity to sue. Until Vanecko’s guilty plea was entered, Koschman had no one to accuse because authorities had hidden evidence that Vanecko was the aggressor in the fight, her attorneys said.

Pallmeyer, however, noted that civil lawsuits are often filed ahead of criminal charges to meet the statute requirements, then put on the back burner until after the criminal case is resolved.

“It simply cannot be that Mrs. Koschman couldn’t have filed her wrongful death action until he was convicted,” Pallmeyer said in her ruling. “(She) had all the information she needed to sue Vanecko in 2011. … In fact, not only did she have that information, but she had access to the courts at that time. … She exercised her right of access to the courts by filing the petition in the Circuit Court of Cook County.”

The swift decision came as a surprise to many who believed Pallmeyer was going to only hear arguments and rule on a later date.

After the ruling, Koschman's attorneys said they plan to either take the case to Cook County court or appeal Pallmeyer’s decision to a federal appeals court, but would defer to Nanci Koschman’s wishes.

“She’s such a courageous human being,” said Koschman attorney G. Flint Taylor. “We are ready and able to continue the fight, but it would be up to her.”

Koschman could not be reached for comment.

David Koschman, 21, of Mount Prospect, had been drinking in the Rush Street night life district in April 2004 when he and friends got into an altercation with a group that included Vanecko. During the confrontation, Vanecko punched Koschman, who fell back and hit his head on the street. He died 11 days later.

The lawsuit, which relied heavily on the findings of special prosecutor Dan Webb, alleged that Daley and certain family members, friends and associates gave “false, misleading and incomplete statements” as part of Webb’s investigation into Koschman’s death. More than 25 defendants were named in the suit besides Vanecko, including former police superintendents Phil Cline and Jody Weis, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and former State’s Attorney Dick Devine.

The suit alleged that Daley or someone closely connected to him or his family caused high-level police officials to learn within hours of Koschman’s death that the mayor’s nephew was involved, in order to prevent Vanecko from being criminally charged or sued.

The suit also alleged that during separate investigations seven years apart, police fabricated evidence and altered official files, all in a bid to falsely make it appear that Koschman, 10 inches shorter and more than 100 pounds lighter than Vanecko, was the aggressor in the altercation.

Nanci Koschman told reporters in March she decided to file the lawsuit after learning from Webb’s voluminous report how her son’s death was treated.

Although Pallmeyer dismissed the case, she said Thursday that if Koschman’s allegations were true, “many of the defendants knew or should have known very early on of Mr. Vanecko's role in the killing of her only child.”

“Good public servants, even those who need to stand for re-election, look past those considerations and follow the law even when that is not the popular, convenient or politically savvy thing to do,” Pallmeyer said.

Taylor said he saw it as a “silver lining … that the judge condemned the conduct of the state’s attorney’s office and the police department in no uncertain terms.”